


The Virtuous Way

by noa748



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-26
Updated: 2014-08-12
Packaged: 2018-02-10 13:06:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2026191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noa748/pseuds/noa748
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My first actions upon becoming a senshi were to nearly blind Jadeite and set some of his stuff on fire.  Things kind of went downhill from there.  Self-insert.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Life

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I got sick of posting this on Tumblr, sooo... here we go! XD
> 
> OC Brit is not the most original senshi, but I really had to get this Sailor Moon stuff out of my system :D

Another gloomy Monday…

My notebook sat on the desk in front of me, but none of the notes I’d taken made sense to my tired brain. I wasn’t sure which was worse—having math early in the morning, or having it right now, in the middle of the afternoon when I was completely ready to go home.

Ah! The teacher had stopped lecturing, and everyone was getting their stuff together. A quick glance at the clock told me it was 2:00. Freedom, finally!

“Furness!”

I glanced up as my name was awkwardly called, only to see that one of my classmates, Ayaka Sato, had approached. People always had trouble with my English last name, which was annoying when it was the name most acquaintances generally used here.

“Sato, I told you, it’s all right—‘Bri’ or ‘Tani’ is easier on the ears anyway.”

“Sorry. I keep forgetting,” she said sheepishly. “Well, you should call me Aya, then. Anyway, we were just talking about going to that jewelry store OSA-P today. They’re having a huge sale, and I think Motoki was going to get something for his girlfriend too. Wanna come?”

“I can’t today, sorry,” I replied. “I already made plans. Thanks for inviting me, though.”

“Oh, no worries!” The girl smiled. “Next time, okay? Later!”

She filtered out of the classroom with everyone else, leaving me sitting at my desk. I sighed, getting to my feet and gathering up my things before heading out as well. As always, the walkway outside the university was crowded at this time of day; I pushed through the throngs of students, eager to make it back to my quiet, mercifully empty apartment.

My name is Brittany Furness. I’m eighteen years old and I go to university in Tokyo, Japan. Apparently I’m a foreign exchange student, and I’m studying… something. I go through every day like clockwork, using my daily routines to keep myself sane in a very confusing world.

Normally, getting an education in Japan would be a really exciting thing for me. Thing is, though, I don’t have any memory of coming here. The whole thing made me feel a bit cheated—Japan was something I would’ve taken a long time to consider and talk about with my family, and skipping that whole part and just waking up here one day was completely unfair.

Except it wasn’t exactly that simple—I had a vague memory of going through my usual routines even before I ‘woke up.’ It was like… one day I had just remembered who I was. Before that, things had been fine, but I had just been living day to day, never questioning the past or future. Now that I was, the entire situation was just… alarming. I didn’t know what my ultimate plans were supposed to be, I was in a country on the other side of the world, and for some reason, I couldn’t get in contact with any of my family or old friends. Half of the time when I tried to dial long-distance to America, it was either the wrong number or a disconnected line.

My apartment building was just up ahead. I sidestepped a crowd of teenagers, keeping my head down and making my way for the doors. Tonight would probably just be another night of watching TV and doing homework… wash, rinse, repeat.

Ayaka’s offer from earlier was nagging at me. Sure, it had only been a month since I had ‘woken up,’ but it couldn’t hurt me to actually have a social life. She seemed nice enough, and that Motoki guy she had mentioned was super nice too.

Of course I didn’t have the money to be buying something silly like jewelry right now… but I could’ve window shopped, right? They probably would’ve wanted to go for coffee or food or something afterwards. It would’ve been an easy in to a group of friends. So why had I turned her down, almost as a reflex?

OSA-P Jewelry… I had seen the place. It was weird, but for some reason I just didn’t want to go there. I was a bit of a recluse already since I was so afraid of getting lost in the city, but it wasn’t about that. I was just getting bad vibes today. Strange…

Attempting to shrug off the feeling, I headed back to my place and prepared to hang out for the night.

\----

_Please…_

_You must save them…_

_We are all victims of the darkness…_

_Save them, please…_

\---- 

I shot up in bed, breathing heavily and covered in a sheen of cold sweat. What was…?

My room was dark. Moonlight shone through the open window, and a light breeze rustled the curtains. For a Tokyo night, it was relatively quiet. The loudest thing in the room was the sound of my heart pounding, or so it felt.

_Just a dream._

But that voice… I felt like I’d heard it before. It was soft and kind but at the same time conveyed a sense of great urgency. Sitting here, I felt like I was wasting time, and the feeling continued to linger.

Great. There was no way I was going back to sleep now. It wasn’t even that late; I couldn’t have been in bed for more than two hours.

Oh, well. Might as well stay up. I’d probably get tired again in an hour or two anyway.

For a little while I tried to watch TV, but the antsy feeling just wouldn’t go away; eventually I decided to go for a walk outside. The area my building was in had a decent amount of traffic even at night, so I wasn’t too concerned about being out alone; there were plenty of public places still open.

My walk ended up taking me to the jewelry store Ayaka had mentioned earlier today, OSA-P. There was a bit of a commotion going on outside; the windows were broken, the place was surrounded by crime scene tape and there were police cars parked out front.

I stopped on the sidewalk along with a few other people, staring at the scene. What…? Something had happened?

“Must’ve been a robbery,” the person next to me commented idly. “Scary… my friends were there this afternoon and everything was fine.”

“Hmm…” My shoulders slumped a bit. Aya and her friends had gone there in the afternoon; hopefully that meant they were okay.

For a minute or so I stood there, watching quietly and feeling faintly troubled. Earlier, a bad feeling had stopped me from agreeing to go shopping at this place. And now, this happens? Could just be a coincidence, but still…

“It was a girl in a sailor uniform,” someone said.

I turned to look at them, eyebrow cocked incredulously. “What?”

The speaker was an excited young girl. She continued eagerly, “Like Sailor V! I wonder if she has a partner now?”

“Uh…” My brow furrowed. “Is this a Sailor Moon reference?”

The girl jumped up and down, clapping her hands. “Sailor Moon! Was that her name?! So cool!”

Suddenly I felt distinctly uncomfortable, like the atmosphere had grown tense in the blink of an eye. My gaze moved past the girl only to focus on another person in the small crowd. It was a man with short, wavy blond hair and cold blue eyes. He was giving me a sharp look, mouth turned down in a slight frown.

Abruptly, I broke away and stared at the crime scene once more. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end and my stomach flopped. There were other people around, but the way that guy was looking at me made me feel very unsafe.

Just as I was trying to ignore the burning stare that was directed at me, something slid into place in my head. OSA-P jewelry… _that_ was where I recognized this place from! The jewelry store in Sailor Moon had the same name, right? It was the store Naru’s mom owned, where the first episode took place.

My brow furrowed. In the show, there was a fight here between Sailor Moon and a monster masquerading as Naru’s mother. The store in front of me looked trashed, and the girl next to me was claiming someone in a sailor uniform had been here. If I pretended this were the aftermath of that incident, then that would make the blond guy… 

Part of me refused to believe any of it, but my emotional reaction was instantaneous. My heart skipped a beat and I shivered a little, trying to glance over in his direction without it being too obvious. _Jadeite._

He was gone. I felt my shoulders slump a little with relief, and I turned my attention back to the crime scene. This couldn’t _really_ be it, right? I might’ve gotten the name of the store wrong—it had to be something else in the anime. But why the hell would that young girl have known about Sailor V and not Sailor Moon…?

Not to mention, it wasn’t like my life had been completely logical as of late… I _still_ didn’t even know how I had ended up on the other side of the world. Something strange was going on here…

It was getting late, though, and I really didn’t want to fret over this right now. I resolved to check the news in the morning and find out what really happened.

Breaking away from the crowd, I began walking down the sidewalk, starting to make a loop back in the direction of my apartment. 

The walk back seemed too long, and the city too quiet. My troubled thoughts hung over me and I chewed on my lower lip nervously. I didn’t like how off-balance this whole thing made me feel… I wanted to go home. Not to my apartment— _home_ home. Not in an unfamiliar country, speaking a language I didn’t even remember learning.

The sidewalks were deserted and no cars passed by on the street. I became abruptly aware of how _wrong_ everything seemed. The shadows were too dark and there was nobody here. Maybe this would be normal in the countryside where I grew up, but in this setting, in Tokyo of all places…

The blond man was stepping out of an alleyway up ahead. He walked to the center of the sidewalk and stopped, turning to face me. I slowed my steps and came to a halt, eyes widening. We made eye contact; it was clear he had no intention of moving. He was here for me.

I gulped, remembering the way he had been _staring_ at me earlier. “Can I… help you?”

He smirked. “What do you know about Sailor Moon?”

“E-excuse me?” I faltered, blinking with surprise.

“You mentioned the name,” the blond replied. The smirk remained in place, but his eyes grew hard. “Tell me what you know.”

“I don’t…” My brows drew together. Was this really happening? If he was for real, that truth was too frightening to accept. 

I shook my head, automatically falling back on incredulity as a defense mechanism. Sailor Moon was an _anime._ That guy _couldn’t_ be…

“Look, man, back off,” I said, putting on my best confident act and resuming my walk forward. “I _will_ call the cops if you don’t. Don’t think I’m just some ignorant American you can bully.”

It occurred to me that this guy didn’t even look Japanese, but I didn’t let my act falter. The man stood his ground, only his smirk had faded.

“Enough!” He exclaimed, holding one hand out to stop me.

I stopped dead in my tracks, feeling a jolt of something go through me. The second he’d held his hand out I had felt some kind of pressure, like he had pushed me back without touching me. 

The air seemed to ripple, and the man’s clothes suddenly changed. Now he was wearing a dark military-style jacket that I knew very well.

“I am Jadeite, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Dark Kingdom. If you refuse to comply, I would be happy to feed your energy to our great ruler.” The smirk returned. “How much do you value your life, then? Answer carefully.”

_The arrogant king._

A cold feeling of dread settled in my stomach. There was no denying it—he had called himself Jadeite. That meant the incident at the jewelry store… Jadeite, Beryl, youma, _Sailor Moon…_

Somehow I had ended up not only in Japan, but in some kind of alternate world where this shit was actually _real._ And the man in front of me was extremely dangerous.

For a moment I continued to give him a wide-eyed stare; then I quickly turned on my heel and bolted. Behind me, Jadeite began to laugh loudly. His laughter had a cruel edge.

I glanced over my shoulder hurriedly to see if he was following, only to see that he was still standing in the same spot, arms spread wide.

Something ahead of me crashed to the pavement. I gasped, looking ahead just in time to trip over the mailbox that had fallen in my path. My body collided hard with the sidewalk, knocking the wind out of me; I had to lay there for a moment in shock.

The laughter continued. “Don’t be a coward. If you won’t be of use to me, then at least lie still while I harvest your energy!”

 _“No!”_ I managed to cry, grabbing the edge of the mailbox and stumbling to my feet. Couldn’t anyone hear this? Where had all the people gone?!

Jadeite was taking slow, purposeful strides towards me. He looked like an ordinary man at first glance, but the power he was exuding was immense enough to make the nearby street lights flicker.

“Who is Sailor Moon and how did she stop my youma?” He demanded.

“I—I don’t know!” I yelled in a panic, whirling to face him and attempting to back away at the same time. “P-please! I really don’t know anything!”

 _But I did._ I knew fucking everything, and he could tell!

He just smirked, holding out one hand, and I saw a parked car next to me start to lift off the ground. I let out a scream and dashed into a narrow alley way; the small space was the only thing that kept the car from following me, and I heard it collide with the wall behind me with an enormous crash. Jadeite was still laughing like the entire thing was a game, like he was the cat and I was a cornered mouse.

I hid behind a nearby dumpster, covering my mouth in an attempt to silence my heavy breathing, trying not to cry. He had seen where I went; he was going to follow me here and find me soon. Where could I run?! This alley branched off into two dead ends and all of the fire escapes were too high up to reach.

 _Fuck!_ Was this really happening? I didn’t want to die! I didn’t want to…

_Just tell him._

The thought suddenly came into my head, and I managed to slow my breathing. That was right. I could tell him. I could just tell him everything I knew. He might still kill me, but maybe it would stall him enough for me to see an opening. Or maybe he wouldn’t chase me if he had gotten what he wanted.

But if Usagi existed, wouldn’t that put her life in danger? Wouldn’t I essentially be giving a fourteen-year-old girl a death sentence? But… but _I didn’t want to die, either! Dammit!_

Footsteps coming my way. I pressed my hands to my face, holding back a sob with all my might. This was it, wasn’t it? Either I sacrificed her to save myself, or I died cowering behind a dumpster in a dark alley. I didn’t know what to do, and I hated myself for even seriously considering the former as a viable option.

_We are all victims of the darkness…_

I jolted a little. What? That voice again…

The moonlight grew a little brighter for a second. I saw a shimmering light, and suddenly a small object fell from the sky and landed in my lap.

_A pen?_

It was white in color with a gold cap. The cap was adorned with an eight-point compass rose. It was strangely warm to the touch.

_Please…_

The voice. I turned my head skyward, mystified.

_Become Sailor Polaris… guide them to salvation…_

Sailor Polaris? What? 

Jadeite was still drawing closer. He was going to discover my hiding place and kill me. But I was holding what looked like a transformation pen, and I had a name… if it would save my life, it was worth a shot.

I gripped the pen tightly and held it up to the moon.

_“Polaris power, make up!”_

A warm light began to envelop me from the feet up. I stood, feeling my long brown hair begin to rustle when there was no wind, as if gravity had stopped working correctly in this one spot. The top of the pen shined radiantly, shrouding me in a curtain of shimmering silver.

I watched in amazement as long gloves materialized on me, starting at the elbows and quickly covering up to my fingertips. Then I realized with a jolt that my top had changed, just as a velvety black bow appeared on my chest. The silver light surrounded my thighs and an off-white pleated skirt appeared; then, on my feet, a pair of black heeled sandals adorned with matching bows materialized. 

A necklace made of what felt like leather cord appeared on my neck, and finally, I felt the cool metal of a tiara on my forehead. The shimmering light began to fade but the warmth of it remained; I felt stronger, full of energy. It wasn’t just a change of clothes, I realized—there was a different mentality that came with it.

…But I was still really, _really_ scared. Regardless of Jadeite’s plans before, he was _definitely_ going to kill me when he saw me now.

At least this time I stood a fighting chance, though. And that pen—it hadn’t appeared out of nowhere. Someone had given it to me. Someone out there was rooting for me. 

If anything, I could try to take him by surprise. His footsteps were drawing dangerously close.

“It’s useless to hide,” Jadeite was calling. “I’m going to find you. Why not make this as painless as possible?”

Okay. I couldn’t let him see my fear—I could do this! Hadn’t I spent half my childhood pretending to be a sailor senshi? I knew how I was supposed to act!

“Secrets are secrets for a reason! Trying to force a girl to betray someone she cares about—that’s unforgivable!”

“What?” Jadeite had faltered.

I used the opportunity to jump out from my hiding spot, standing tall with my hands on my hips.

“I am the guiding light in the darkness, the sailor guardian Sailor Polaris!” I pointed at him dramatically. “Jadeite of the Dark Kingdom! In the name of Polaris, I will purge you!”

For just a moment the dark general faltered, staring at me in shock—then he regained his composure and offered the same arrogant smirk I was beginning to hate.

“Sailor Polaris,” he tested the name out, and it was strange to hear it on his lips and know it was _me_ he was talking about. “You should have brought Sailor Moon with you and saved me the trouble. But it hardly matters; whether you die together or apart, the end is still the same.”

He held out a hand, and the dumpster beside me suddenly lurched. My eyes widened and I jumped backwards on a reflex, just in time to see the dumpster crash into the spot where I had been standing. Jadeite laughed and levitated it into the air easily.

Shit, _shit!_ I dodged again as the dumpster flew past me at an alarming speed, crashing once again into a wall. As I ran forward my ankle buckled and I stumbled, falling to my knees. Aaaaaagh! These heels—how could I be expected to do _anything_ in these heels?!

Dark chuckling caught my attention, and suddenly a gloved hand wrapped around my throat, hauling me into the air. I clawed at the hand, fighting for breath. Jadeite met my panicked gaze with a derisive smile.

“I’ll have my youma string your body up as a warning,” he jeered. “Goodbye, Sailor Polaris.”

_NO!_

I lashed out with one foot, aiming the point of the heel outward. It connected hard with his inner thigh and he jolted a bit with surprise, just enough to loosen his grip on my throat. Suddenly I was falling and I tumbled ungracefully to the ground, cursing the skirt and cursing my heels and _especially_ cursing the blond bastard trying to murder me.

“You little…” Jadeite growled as I hurriedly got to my feet.

There was no way I could run if he started using telekinesis again; with that heavy dumpster behind me and Jadeite in front, there was nowhere to go. Dammit, if I was wearing this ridiculous outfit then I had to have a special move, right? Come on, what was it? I didn’t have a talking cat to tell me!

_Think. Just think…!_

“Enough games,” the blond said, his prior amusement gone. “You—”

“You’re right! Enough games!” I declared, and it came to me. I planted my feet, holding my arms out as a pulsing energy gathered at my fingertips.

 _“Blinding Nova!”_

The energy became an intense white light that flashed and enveloped our surroundings for a split second; though I wasn’t affected, Jadeite doubled over with a cry of pain, covering his eyes with one hand.

I saw the opportunity and took it. While Jadeite was recovering I bolted past him, yanking off my heels and running down the street as fast as I could.

Leaving the presence of the dark general, I felt like I had passed through some kind of invisible barrier; suddenly people and cars started appearing, and I was no longer so alone. I took this to be a good sign, but I knew I couldn’t be safe yet.

People were beginning to stare. If Jadeite wanted to find me, all he would have to do was follow the excited murmurs of the pedestrians. I needed to change back.

Ducking into another alley, I looked around quickly to be sure no one was looking, and then concentrated hard. I wasn’t sure how to go about changing back, but it seemed to come naturally; the heels in my hands vanished into a silver dust that winked out of existence, and I felt my outfit beginning to change back to the jeans and t-shirt I was wearing before.

When the process finished, I was left with the transformation pen sitting in my hand. Shoving it in my pocket, I walked out of the alley and ducked my head and tried to get home as discreetly as possible.


	2. Silence in the Library

Though the walk was agonizingly long, eventually I managed to make it back to my building. It wasn’t until I made it to my floor that I began to actually feel safe again. My heart was still pounding, and it took a lot of effort not to run the events of the night through my head over and over. That kind of thing would only stress me out more.

The pen was still sitting in my pocket, and I didn’t want it. Being a senshi would mean this sort of thing happening all the time, me risking my life over and over. I didn’t ask for that life, and I wanted zero part of it. I wanted to throw the pen away.

…But after what happened with Jadeite, I _couldn’t._ He knew my face—if he came across me again by chance, he might try to kill me, and the transformation pen was the only thing that stood a chance of saving my life.

My hands were shaking as I walked down the hallway to my apartment, head down. I just wanted to… to get to bed. I had some over-the-counter sleeping pills from the last time I had been sick; I could pop a few of those and go to sleep, and then in the morning everything would seem clearer and more sane. And maybe it’d all be just a dream in the end…

Suddenly I collided with something warm and I stumbled backwards with a jolt, eyes widening. For one horrifying moment I thought it was Jadeite, and when I looked up, fear was plain on my face. My gaze met a pair of surprised blue eyes.

Black hair, blue eyes. Black turtleneck, green blazer, jeans… 

“Mamoru?” The name slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.

He blinked, taken aback. “Furness. Hey.”

I realized my mistake, and I fought to backpedal, flustered. “Uh—I didn’t—it just slipped out. Sorry, Chiba—”

“No, it’s fine,” he said, shaking his head, though still looking a bit confused. “We’re neighbors. Call me what you want.”

“…Okay,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. I was lucky he was relatively easygoing, because that had been too familiar.

It occurred to me that Mamoru Chiba had been living two doors down from me this entire time and I had never thought twice about it. I had seen him in passing and we had usually exchanged friendly nods when we saw each other in the hall, but I had never even entertained the fact that he could be _that_ Mamoru. Now I knew there was no one else he could be.

“Everything all right?”

“Huh?” I flinched a little to see that he was still giving me that look. Though he was one to talk—upon closer examination I could see that his hair was a bit disheveled and his clothes were wrinkled, like he’d just gotten out of bed.

…That made sense. He had just gotten done being Tuxedo Mask a few hours ago.

“You’re pretty pale,” Mamoru pointed out.

“Oh. Um.” I laughed nervously. “I’m fine, really. I’ve just had a long day.”

“Okay,” he said, still looking uncertain. “If you say so.”

“Anyway, I’m off to bed,” I said, trying to perk up. “Good night!”

“…Night,” came the reply.

Even as I made my way to my door, I could feel his eyes on me, and I felt extremely self-conscious as I fumbled for my keys with shaking hands. After a few seconds I could hear the sound of his footsteps fading down the hall.

I paused and rested my forehead against the door, closing my eyes and letting out a deep sigh.

It was okay… it was going to be okay. Tuxedo Mask was right down the hall.

In the end, that small comfort was the only thing that helped me get to sleep that night. I dreamt dreams that I hadn’t had since I was a young girl, of princes and princesses, dancing in the light of the moon. 

\---- 

When I awoke the next morning, the pen was still sitting on my dresser where I’d left it. The events of the previous night had not been a dream; the pen was proof of that, no matter how much I wanted to believe otherwise.

It was still slightly warm in my hands when I picked it up. The muscles in my ankle were still a bit strained, and there was a tender bruise on my throat where Jadeite’s thumb had jabbed me as he picked me up.

Though it was early spring, it was still far too warm to wear a turtleneck. I spent the first twenty minutes of my day applying cover up to my neck and trying to hide the evidence. Anyone who saw would ask questions, and what the hell was I supposed to say? This wasn’t something I could just report to the police.

As I covered over the bruise, numb disbelief settled in the pit of my stomach. This entire thing was absolutely nuts. Sailor Moon had held a place in my heart ever since I was five years old; I had pretended I was a senshi too, fighting the evil plots of Jadeite and the other villains of the Dark Kingdom—well, the _Negaverse,_ as I knew it back then.

Now my naïve childhood dreams had somehow come true. But it wasn’t a game of pretend anymore; back then I hadn’t understood the gravity of the situation the way I did now. The bruise on my throat spoke volumes. I had almost _died_ last night. I hadn’t performed like a hero—sailor senshi or not, I was still a terrified teenager underneath it all.

I picked up the pen, staring at it. Sailor Polaris… my signature attack was called Blinding Nova, and it was really only good for temporarily incapacitating enemies. It was good to get out of a pinch, to escape from a bad situation, or to create an opening for someone else. Like Mercury, I didn’t have much capability as far as one-on-one fights went. She was at least extremely smart and part of a group, so she could function as the tactician. As for me…

 _No_. There was no _way_ I was joining up with Sailor Moon’s crew. They had survived without me in the anime, hadn’t they? They didn’t need me. So why was I even _here?_ What was the point of it all?

_Save them…_

That voice… who was I supposed to save? I didn’t understand…

Thinking about it all was giving me a headache. I didn’t want to get involved, but I couldn’t bear to leave the pen sitting at home either. So when I set out to go to class, I kept it in my pocket. Better safe than sorry.

Two days passed without incident. I fell back into my usual routine, though I was far more alert than before, always staying in crowded public places and making sure not to walk home too late at night. The transformation pen stayed on me at all times; I didn’t dare let it go.

I passed Mamoru in the hallway of our complex two more times, and he served as yet another reminder of my situation. Ever since our short conversation that night, we had switched to a first-name basis, and were a little bit friendlier with each other. It was hard not to talk to him at least a little bit now that he was more than just a name and a face to me.

Tuxedo Mask living right down the hall… well, I was blessed for that much. I didn’t want to join Usagi’s group, but I wouldn’t mind at least becoming friends with Mamoru.

It was currently Thursday afternoon; my noon class had been cancelled, so it was a half-day for me. I decided to go to the university’s library and do some studying for an upcoming test. I needed to check out a reference book for a different class, anyway.

The library was actually _quiet,_ oddly enough. I had gotten used to a certain level of noise due to the sheer size (it was three floors) and volume of people coming in and out. Usually I could hear low murmurs or laughter or the shuffling of paper, _something._ It sounded more like I had walked into the middle of an exam or something.

The silence was actually a little bit oppressive. I felt a little self-conscious, like if I made too much noise everyone was going to look up and glare at me. As it was, all of the students were sitting at the tables and chairs scattered around; they all either seemed to be studying intensely or falling asleep. Weird. Usually I could see at least one or two study groups but today, everyone was alone.

“Miss? Is there something I can help you with?”

Oh, the librarian was calling me. I forced a nervous smile and walked over in the direction of the main desk, where a bespectacled blond man in a tweed jacket was standing.

Huh. I had been coming to this library regularly for a while now, and I thought all of the librarians who worked here were women. This guy must’ve been a newbie. 

Keeping the smile planted on my face, I tried not to be too obvious as I checked him out. Looked to be about my age… maybe he was a student? He was pretty cute.

“Miss?” the man repeated, and I jumped.

“Oh!” Jesus, way to be completely obvious. “U-uh, I was just looking for this book.” I held out my open notebook, where I had written down the name and author of the reference book.

He took a glance and nodded. “Ah, yes. Unfortunately, that particular book has been checked out.”

“Really?” I bit my lip. “Crap. I need it for a class…”

“We do have a digital edition, if you’re interested,” he suggested. “Normally it’s exclusively for the library computers, but I would be happy to lend a copy to you.”

Sweet! I perked up immediately, grinning. I had a laptop back at the apartment, so that was perfect.

“That sounds great. Thanks a lot!”

“It’s no trouble at all,” he replied smoothly, offering a smile that made my heart skip a beat. Then he reached into a drawer on the desk, pulling out a CD that, oddly enough, had no label.

“This is my only copy, but feel free to keep it as long as you like,” the blond continued. “I’m happy to be of help.” 

“Ah… thank you,” I said, a bit surprised. His only copy? Wow, he was being nice. Too nice. Was he flirting? Nah… that wasn’t it. That sort of interest wasn’t in his eyes.

…Huh. Blue eyes… they looked oddly familiar… 

_Ugh_ —don’t stare! I quickly lowered my gaze when he smiled, feeling my cheeks heat up a little bit. Reaching out, I took the disc from him. Then I thanked him and hurried on my way, hustling past tables of quiet students.

Weird. My heart was pounding, and it wasn’t because of the attractive blond. The atmosphere in this library was making me anxious. Why was everyone so… dead? 

“U-um, excuse me…” I approached a girl with her nose in a book, placing a hand lightly on her arm.

She glared at me with so much hatred that I had to take a step back.

 _“What?”_ the girl seethed. “Can’t you see I’m trying to study?”

I blinked, caught so off guard that I muttered a few choice words in English before apologizing to her with a fake smile.

 _Jesus…_ everyone sitting next to her was glaring at me now, too. And, I noticed, the people behind me. What was everyone’s _problem?_

As I paused in that spot, I saw one of the people studying at a nearby table slump over in their seat. What the—that explained the people who were sleeping. Did they study themselves to sheer exhaustion? Something was wrong here. I was getting bad vibes all around. Why the hell wasn’t the librarian checking on them—

Suddenly my blood ran cold. Oh, no. No, no, no. 

I couldn’t just walk away now. I needed to check, to make sure.

Turning around, I walked right back up to the main desk, planting a pleasant smile on my face.

The blond smiled back. “Was there something else you needed?”

I tried to look sheepish, placing the CD on the counter. “Actually, I got mixed up. It’s not this book I need. It was something for a different class—it’s okay, I can find it myself.”

“Nonsense.” He shook his head, gesturing over to a petite woman that had approached. “Rin would be happy to help you.”

The woman bowed politely, wearing the biggest fake smile I had ever seen. “What book do you need, miss?”

Growing steadily more alarmed but trying not to show it, I named off a book I had checked out last week. She nodded and happily went on her way; I noticed she was _not_ going in the direction of the shelf where that particular book was kept. 

“Sorry to trouble you,” I said, turning back to the blond and smiling again. It was an excuse to get a better look at his face.

“It’s quite all right,” he replied mildly.

“If you don’t mind me asking, are you a new librarian? I don’t remember seeing you around,” I remarked, tilting my head.

“Yes, I’m relatively new,” he said with a nod. “Normally I’m a substitute teacher. Several of the librarians have been out sick, so I offered to help.”

About my age. Wavy blond hair, ice cold blue eyes. And that _voice…_

All at once, I could see it, clear as day. It was just Jadeite wearing a cheap disguise. He had used some kind of perception-altering magic—the same sort of thing that kept the sailor senshi from being recognized by people who knew their real identities. But now that I had questioned it, now that I had really looked closely at him, I could see exactly who he was.

“Here you are!” I was jolted out of my reverie by the petite woman, who had walked up with the book I had asked for.

The spine was a weird tar-like black color, and the cover wasn’t quite the same as I remembered. The book looked fatter. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that many of the books sitting in front of students had the same black spines.

“Thank you very much,” I said, taking the book from her. Then I turned to Jadeite, offering a fake smile. “Well, I’ll be on my way then.”

“Have a nice day,” he said, smiling. His eyes darkened the tiniest bit, giving me a chill.

The book felt greasy in my clammy hands. When I reached the door leading out of the library, I left it on a nearby shelf before leaving. No way in _hell_ was I taking that thing home with me.

I walked down the hall, heart pounding with the revelation I’d had. All of those people in the library were being sapped of their energy. It was something in the books… or in the discs. Jadeite was posing as the librarian—who knew what had happened to the actual librarian on duty. And that Rin woman… a youma?

Well, I knew what was going on. Now the question was, what was I going to _do_ about it?


	3. C'est La Vie

I spent a long time wandering aimlessly around the university, heart pounding, trying to get up the nerve to do something. Even now, I was wasting time. 

The library… I didn’t remember it from the anime. I didn’t recognize Jadeite’s getup, and I didn’t recognize that woman with him. Did that mean… did that mean Sailor Moon wasn’t going to take care of this one?

What could I do, then? I could try to find Usagi and drop obvious hints, but she wasn’t the sharpest tack in the box, and I’d only succeed in making Luna suspicious about _me._ And that was such a roundabout way of doing things that Jadeite would be long gone by the time Sailor Moon actually got there.

I could just _run,_ and pray that someone else came to the rescue…

…But those people. They might _die._ And I would be responsible. I would be the coward who ran off to save her own skin.

Mamoru didn’t have class today, Usagi was god knew where, and I didn’t even think Ami was a senshi yet. I had nobody to ask for help. It was just me.

There was my answer. I didn’t like it, but there it was. If I didn’t at least try to save those people, I would be the worst kind of person. I was no hero, but I at least knew the difference between right and wrong.

Abruptly changing course, I made my way back in the direction of the library. On the way, I stopped and took a look at one of the fire escape maps posted on the wall. According to the map of this building, there was a back entrance to the library. I could try getting in that way. I would find those tainted books and CDs, and sabotage the _hell_ out of them. After that… well, I’d make it up as I went along.

The back door to the library was locked, so I went to the main office and asked if there was a spare, making up some bullshit story about how the librarian’s aide had gone home early and accidentally taken the main key with her. Since nobody would really want to break into the back room of a library of all places, they believed me and forked over the spare key. Promising to bring it right back, I ran off.

Now it was time to be really stealthy. I made it back to the library and tried to quell my anxiety as I unlocked the back door, cracking it slightly and listening before I made the decision to enter. 

Oh, _shit._ Jackpot.

I made sure to shut the door behind me before walking up and investigating the contents of multiple boxes set on the floor all around the room. This place was the source of that oppressive energy I had felt. It was nuts, but everything around me seemed to be radiating a hateful aura, like a rabid animal just barely restrained. Was this what dark energy felt like? What a horrible thing.

The books were stacked on one side of the room and the CDs on the other. Hmm… how to go about this? Well, I _did_ have a lighter on me… but that might create a bad fire. There were sprinklers on the ceiling, though…

That would be the easiest way. I wasn’t sure how to destroy the discs, but at the very least I could set off the fire alarm and force those students in the library to evacuate.

I pulled out my lighter and a can of hair spray that I often carried to touch up throughout the day. Whew, I had never done _this_ before; it might actually be kind of fun. The lighter was lit, and I put the spray nozzle in position to create a makeshift flamethrower.

“What are you doing?” 

I jumped at the familiar male voice, and turned to face Jadeite, who had entered behind me. He was still in disguise; fury slowly leaked into his expression as he saw the compromising position I was in and put the pieces together.

There was no real way to save myself now. Might as well be honest.

“Sabotage,” I responded in a matter-of-fact tone. Then I sprayed the aerosol. 

An enormous burst of flame engulfed the box in front of me, immediately beginning to eat away at the contents. The box began to billow smoke, clouding up the room. 

At first Jadeite took a step back, surprised by the action. Then he tilted his head, watching me carefully.

“Just what are you expecting to accomplish by doing that?” He gestured around the room at all of the surviving boxes, indicating that my efforts were futile without having to say anything.

Ahh, silly man. He acted like he was so superior and he could put on a good act, but he was oblivious to things that any average human being would know.

I shrugged and looked up at the ceiling, waiting. As if on cue, the sprinklers turned on and the fire alarm started blaring. I could hear the shuffling of feet in the hallway as crowds of people immediately began to leave their classes.

“Lord Jadeite!” Rin had rushed in through the door leading to the main part of the library. “The students are being evacuated! At this rate…”

“What?” The blond abruptly turned, looking past his subordinate into the library. I could see people moving around; some of the students were letting out angry cries of protest as they were being evacuated. Others remained slumped over, thus alerting teachers to the fact that something was very wrong.

The box of books in front of me was slowly being put out by the sprinklers. The water’s interaction with the flames was only creating more smoke; Jadeite and Rin were quickly becoming silhouettes.

I didn’t miss the expression on his face when he turned back to look at me, though. He was smirking dangerously, his gaze steely.

“So you knew who I was from the beginning. You’re an unusual girl. I’m even a bit impressed.” His eyes narrowed. “But your interference ends here. I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

The blond turned to his subordinate. “Biblia. Kill her.”

“With pleasure,” the girl said.

The smoke in here was growing too thick; it was getting hard to breathe. I saw Rin’s silhouette changing; she grew taller, her fingers grew bonier, and her red eyes pierced through the hazy atmosphere.

When she took a few steps forward, I could see that her hair had become feathery and her fingertips were pointed quills. She grinned and that black tar-like substance came oozing from her lips, dripping to the floor… and _through_ the floor.

 _“Shit!”_ I cried, losing my nerve, and bolted. Behind me, I could hear the sound of her distorted laughter.

The hallways were still full of students and the youma followed me anyway. I heard the sound of people screaming behind me as they dove to avoid her. The screams, her laughter, the blaring of the fire alarm and my own frantic heartbeat combined to make a horrible rhythm to run to. The muscles in my strained ankle were screaming. I could feel it wanting to buckle on me all over again.

I was running against the crowd and I had no idea where I was going. Abruptly I hooked a sharp right and ran through a door, only to realize it was taking me straight out into the back parking lot—a wide open space with nowhere to hide. 

_The hairspray._ I still had everything I needed.

In a last-ditch effort, I rushed out the door and got into position. When the youma burst through the door, I made sure it was a wall of flame she first came into contact with. Unfortunately she was still carrying quite a bit of forward momentum from chasing after me; she screamed and had just enough time to swipe out, knocking the lighter from my hands. My fingers were burned as they were jerked up into the last bit of heat from the flames.

I cried out and stumbled backwards, finally hitting my bad ankle and falling on my butt.

“You little wretch…” The youma Biblia towered over me, her hair still smoking and her milky white skin marred with scorch marks. Behind her, Jadeite had come through the door; he leaned against the building with his arms crossed, smiling.

The black stuff was dripping from quill nibs at the ends of her fingertips. It sizzled on the pavement.

“Anyone who comes into contact with my special ink will be sucked dry of their energy,” she hissed. “You ruined Master Jadeite’s plans, so I’ll take everything you have to make up for it!”

I couldn’t move. Everything in me was telling me to run, to do _anything,_ but I was frozen with terror. No matter what I did, she was going to lunge and kill me.

The pen! The pen was in my pocket!

But that would mean transforming right in front of the enemy! I would never be able to escape Jadeite if I did that!

But this was life or death… did I really have a choice? The youma was closing in. I had to—

“That’s enough!”

“What?” Jadeite and Biblia said in unison.

Someone had come to stand on the overhang above the door we’d just come out of. It was a girl with long blond hair, a sailor-style shirt and skirt, and a red mask.

_Sailor V?!_

When I uttered the name, wide-eyed, she looked over in my direction and held up two fingers. If not for the opaque mask, I could’ve sworn she had winked.

“I am the soldier of justice, Sailor V! You will pay for your crime of targeting innocent students!”

“Another one?” Jadeite growled. “Biblia!”

 _“Die!”_ the youma cried, throwing a shower of dark ink in the senshi’s direction.

She jumped off the building to evade it, landing gracefully in front of me, effectively shielding me from the beast and its master.

“Run,” she urged quietly.

I didn’t need much more convincing. Rolling out of the way, I stumbled to my feet and bolted. Behind me, I could hear the sounds of the battle beginning.

My heart pounded hard as I ran. There was a small patch of trees dividing this section of the parking lot from the main road. Making my way for those trees, I tried hard not to think too hard, to just focus on escaping.

That was it. I had done everything I could—I had stopped Jadeite’s immediate operation, and now that Venus was alerted, she could kill the youma. Maybe she was even meant to show up all along; maybe she was the one who cleaned up whatever messes Sailor Moon missed. The thought that my help really might not have been needed was really comforting.

I was in the shade of the trees now. The main road was so close, and then it would just be a short jog to my apartment, to safety.

Behind me, there was a piercing scream and I stopped dead in my tracks.

That wasn’t the youma. That was _Venus._

I was hit with a sinking feeling of dread even as I tried to convince myself she was going to be okay. I stood frozen, scarcely able to breathe, thinking of the safety of my apartment and my daily routine and my _normal_ —though strange—life in Japan.

It was slowly dawning on me that there was no grey area here. There was the right thing to do and the wrong thing to do. Running to save myself was one thing… letting others die for my sake was another. Sailor V was far from invincible, even if she was used to working solo.

Fear had left a tight knot in my stomach. My obligation to do the right thing had gotten me into this mess. All I had wanted to do was to mess Jadeite’s plans up and run away before I was discovered. I had just wanted to make an effort, to be able to say I at least _tried_ to do something.

Now… now I had no choice. The same frustrating logic bound me to turn around and once again face what I had been running from. 

Ducking out of sight behind a tree, I steeled my resolve and pulled the pen out of my pocket.

_“Polaris power, make up!”_

Silver light once again enveloped me, changing my outfit completely and instilling me with a warm feeling of inner strength. Clenching my hands into fists, I schooled my expression into something that looked far more confident than I actually was.

In the background I heard Venus let out another scream, and that jolted me into action. I ran, mindful of my precarious heels and sensitive ankle, and somehow made it back to the parking lot in good time. 

The scene wasn’t looking good. Biblia was holding Sailor V up by the hair, free hand drawn back. The quill nibs at the end of the monster’s fingertips would create a nasty wound if she was stabbed—not to mention the ink would kill her if the injury itself didn’t.

“Oi! Youma!” I yelled roughly. 

The monster made the mistake of turning her head in my direction. “What? You want to die too, human?”

 _“Look away!”_ Jadeite ordered immediately, but it was too late; I was already holding my hands out, and all he succeeded in doing was getting Venus to turn her head.

_“Blinding Nova!”_

“Aaaaaagh!” Biblia immediately dropped the senshi, reaching up to claw at her eyes.

“Now, Sailor V!” I called.

“Right!” She jumped back, holding one finger up in the air; a bright light gathered at her fingertip.

_“Crescent Beam!”_

She pointed her finger at the monster and the light blasted out, piercing it and then enveloping it completely. Biblia let out an earsplitting shriek before being blasted into dust. 

“The fool,” Jadeite growled, clenching one fist and staring at the pile of dust left behind.

I walked up and stood next to Sailor V, placing my hands on my hips. We both turned to stare at Jadeite.

“Pretty arrogant of you to blame others for your own failings,” I commented. “It’s over, Jadeite.”

“Sailor Polaris.” He was still angry, but he looked at me and _smirked,_ which made a chill run down my spine. “It is _far_ from over.”

“Why are you doing this?” Sailor V demanded.

“Hmph. Humans waste enormous amounts of energy poring over textbooks and studying for exams in the university’s library. I was simply taking that energy and putting it to better use.” He held up one hand, and a wispy light appeared in his palm. “Fortunately I was able to collect quite a bit before that girl interfered.”

It was strange. I didn’t _feel_ like I looked much different, but it was clear that Jadeite didn’t recognize me. It was too bad I had already antagonized him in both forms.

“Return that energy to the people you stole it from!” Venus ordered.

Jadeite laughed. “You are in no position to be giving me orders.” He turned away from us, opening a dark portal in front of him before looking over his shoulder. “Consider it a blessing that I’m withdrawing for now. Sailor Polaris, Sailor V… if either of you get in my way again, I’ll kill you myself.”

With that, he vanished into the darkness, and the portal winked out of existence.

“Jadeite… that name…”

The voice didn’t belong to Venus. It was male, and seemed to be coming from the ground; I looked down and saw a white cat walking up. It had a crescent shaped bald spot on its forehead.

“Does it sound familiar, Artemis?” the blond asked.

The cat shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m sure I’ve heard it before.”

Venus turned to me. “Who is that man? Is he the source of all the recent attacks?”

I avoided her gaze. I didn’t like this; if I associated too closely with Sailor V, I might end up running into Usagi’s crew later. Then I might be guilted into teaming up with them, and then I would probably end up getting killed in some way or another. Jadeite’s latest threat still had me shivering.

“I… I’m not sure,” I lied. “I think he may be. But all I really know is his name.”

“I see,” the girl replied, and then she smiled. “Thank you for your help! You saved me back there. Sailor Polaris, right?”

“Mm.” I nodded, offering a smile of my own.

“Luna never mentioned another senshi,” Artemis said quietly. 

“Anyway,” I said loudly, “my work here is done! Until next time, Sailor V!”

Venus smiled and nodded, though Artemis looked like he wanted to say more; I didn’t give him time, instead rushing back into the trees and allowing my transformation to fade away.

Heading back out on to the main road, I continued to jog all the way back to my apartment, my mind racing. All of that had been too much… had that really just happened?

_If either of you get in my way again, I’ll kill you myself._

I knew he would make good on that threat if I gave him the chance. If I had transformed right away, I never could’ve taken on that youma alone; I had only enabled Venus to defeat it by jumping in unexpectedly at the last minute. Taking on Jadeite was out of the question. I had barely survived my first run-in with him.

 _Sailor Polaris, it is_ far _from over._

His words rang in my ears, and I couldn’t stop myself from running faster. But no matter how hard I ran, I could never escape the truth behind those words, and the look in his eyes as he said them continued to haunt me.


	4. Savior

“Bri! Over here!”

Aya was up ahead, waving happily. Where she got her boundless energy, I didn’t know; it had only been two hours and I was already dragging my feet.

“She sure is excitable.” Mamoru was walking next to me, hands shoved in his pockets. He looked about as exhausted as I felt.

“That’s not a bad thing,” Motoki laughed. “She’s keeping us awake, isn’t she?”

“Barely,” his friend sighed. “I don’t even know how I got out of bed this morning, never mind sat on a train for three hours.”

“Mt. Fuji is still snow capped,” I commented with a shrug. “All the other popular peaks are far away.”

“Just think of how amazing the views will be!” Motoki’s sister, Unazuki, spoke up as well.

Walking backwards, Aya grinned at us. “As native Japanese, we’re obligated to show Bri the sights. We’re hiking Fuji in a few months, so keep up, boys.”

“This is your fault, you know,” Mamoru said to me, half-joking.

“Don’t even go there,” I said, giving him a sly look. “I saw that girl giving you _the look_ yesterday. When she asked you what you were doing today, you didn’t even hesitate to say you had plans.”

“You didn’t have to latch on to me like that,” he muttered, blushing a little.

“I was just being a good friend, Mamoru,” I replied with a grin.

The girl we were talking about was Rei Hino, whom I had encountered once or twice over the past few weeks. She was already looking at Mamoru like he was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Yesterday had been a failed attempt to ask him out, though I knew she would try again—and eventually succeed.

Unfortunately, my little stunt meant that she now viewed me as a romantic rival. Every time I encountered her, even if it was just passing her on the street, she sent me the fiercest glares. 

“Mamoru’s always been popular with the ladies,” Motoki laughed. “Sometimes I’m a little jealous.”

This prompted the two of us to give him a deadpan look before sighing heavily. Motoki’s amiable, cheerful nature meant that he was the most popular with the opposite sex out of all of us. He was the most oblivious lady killer I had ever met. Every time he was caught spending time with his gorgeous girlfriend, a hundred hearts were broken.

“Hey, guys.” Aya had slowed so we could catch up, and now she pointed ahead of us. “I think that’s a mountain hut up ahead. I was reading that a lot of them opened up here recently. We should go check it out!”

“Okay!” Unazuki was quick to agree, bounding on ahead with the other girl. Mamoru, Motoki and I lagged behind, content with our slower pace. There were still quite a few kilometers of trail left, so there was no sense in wasting our energy.

Approximately three weeks had passed since the incident at the library, and thankfully nothing bad had happened since then. It had actually been a really good couple of weeks; Ayaka had dragged me to a few social events and we had hung out with Motoki a few times, since she was part of his group of friends. I met and befriended his younger sister, and of course ended up hanging out with Mamoru too. 

It was nice to finally have friends, to have things to do and places to go instead of just going through daily routines like clockwork. I couldn’t tell them my real problems, they could never know… but it was nice to be with them and feel like a normal student again.

Today I just wanted to hike and have fun and get to know my new friends a little better. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I felt content. 

The mountain we were hiking was Mt. Zao, which was a volcano in Honshu’s northern region, quite a ways north of Tokyo. Since it was the weekend and there were no classes tomorrow, we had elected to take the train up here early and stay through tomorrow morning. Since the boys were splitting their hotel room and I was splitting with Unazuki and Aya, it was very affordable.

The area around Zao was extremely beautiful, and I repeatedly found myself in awe because of it. Everything was lush and green and _different,_ right down to the plant life we encountered. I was so accustomed to seeing endless fir trees hiking in New Hampshire that being surrounded by completely unfamiliar flora was jarring.

Apparently this place was a very popular ski resort in the winter, but it was also popular in the warmer months due to the scenery and hot springs. We were currently hiking up to see Mt. Zao’s famous crater lake, which looked absolutely stunning from the pictures I’d seen.

“Hm?” Motoki had slowed, staring at the hut up ahead and tilting his head curiously. “I know that wasn’t there when Unazuki and I came last year.”

“Must’ve been built very recently,” Mamoru remarked, regarding it with mild interest. "I'm surprised they had time. Usually they save that stuff for the summer."

“Oh, neat! Don’t they have those on Fuji too? What are they for again?” Unazuki piped up.

“Shelter, lodging, tourist information…” I replied. “That’s what they’re for back in America, anyway. Look, that guy must be the caretaker.”

The others looked up as we drew closer, and our eyes settled on the man standing in front of the building. He had dark hair and tanned skin, and he sported a pair of reflective sunglasses.

“Good morning, everyone,” the man said, smiling. 

“Morning!” Unazuki chirped.

“You all look like city folk,” he commented. “What brings you this far into the country?”

“Good eye,” Motoki chuckled, impressed. 

“Your sister’s iPod is hanging from her bag,” Mamoru murmured with an eye-roll. “Dead giveaway.”

At that, Motoki’s chuckle turned into sheepish laughter, and Unazuki stuck her tongue out.

“Our friend here is a transfer student from America!” Aya declared, linking arms with me and pulling me over. “We’re showing her the sights.”

The caretaker looked over at me, immediately reaching up to take off his shades, revealing a pair of cool blue eyes. I felt my cheeks flush a little as he stared me down for a moment.

Oh man… tall, dark, and handsome. He didn’t even look that Asian, which was a strange thing to find out of the city.

“Well, this is a good place to start,” the man said, smiling. He held out a long wooden pole to me. “I’m selling walking sticks as souvenirs—this one’s on me. Welcome to Mt. Zao.”

“Oh, thank you,” I said, taking it from him. His fingers brushed mine as he passed the stick over, and I felt an odd chill. 

“There are two checkpoints like this one on the path to the crater lake,” the caretaker told me. “You can get this stamped at each one. It’ll be the perfect thing to take back home.”

“I’ve heard of those! Mt. Fuji has checkpoints like that too!” Unazuki piped up. “Hey, can I buy one?”

“Me too!” Aya said.

“Oh, why not…” Motoki caved.

In the end we all got one except for Mamoru, who made some comment about finding certain souvenirs a bit tacky. The caretaker bade us farewell with a smile, and we continued on our way. Just a couple kilometers left…

That chill I had felt just wouldn’t go away. I found myself staring directly ahead as I walked, feeling vaguely troubled.

“Mamoru? Tani? You two have been pretty quiet,” Motoki commented.

The two of us jerked a little. I glanced over at my neighbor; I had been really caught up in my own thoughts, but come to think of it, he hadn’t been talking for the last ten or fifteen minutes either.

His face was hard to read because of the dark sunglasses he was wearing, but he did look a little tense. After a second he just shrugged.

“Ah—it’s nothing,” he replied. “I was just thinking.”

“I spaced out for a second,” I offered, not wanting to use the same excuse as Mamoru. I wasn’t even sure why I was feeling so bothered, anyway.

“Bri, your head’s _always_ in the clouds,” Aya sighed. I stuck my tongue out at her.

“Oh, look! The checkpoint’s up ahead,” Unazuki spoke up, pointing to a hut in the distance.

Nice, so that meant we were halfway there. We approached the hut; this time the caretaker looked to be a woman in her thirties. She smiled at us and offered to stamp our walking sticks.

Each of our sticks was branded with hot iron, proof that we had made it this far. It was a cute souvenir, though nothing would compare to the real thing when we climbed Fuji.

We were halfway, but the climb grew much more difficult after that. I found myself having to lean on my walking stick more and more. I had enough experience with hiking that I knew how to pace myself, but I saw that the others were starting to crash as well, with the exception of Mamoru.

When we reached the final checkpoint, another woman was waiting to stamp our walking sticks. She informed us that it was only a tenth of a kilometer to the summit, where there would be excellent views of the crater lake. 

The short distance felt like it took absolutely forever. It was hard not to drag my feet; I felt like I was going to pass out at any minute. What was wrong with me? I had traveled twice this distance when I hiked Mt. Washington last summer, and that peak was an even higher elevation.

“Up ahead,” Motoki groaned; I looked up and saw a break in the trees. “Finally.”

“Let’s go,” Aya said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.

The others moved on ahead. As I struggled to keep up, Mamoru fell in step with me.

“Hey,” he said quietly. “Let me see that walking stick.”

“Hm? Okay…” I handed it to him, and instantly felt lighter. When I saw him staring hard at it, something clicked in my head and dread settled in the pit of my stomach.

We moved out into the summit clearing in that instant, only to find Motoki and the others unconscious on the ground, their walking sticks still clutched in their hands. Various other people were lying here too. The two female caretakers were standing out on the ridge, smirking. Behind them was the dark haired, handsome caretaker. Oh, _shit_ … how had I not seen this coming?

“What?!” Mamoru’s eyes were wide.

The male caretaker walked up to us, grinning wickedly; his hair went from black to blond, his skin lightening in an instant. He threw down his sunglasses.

“Hiking… what a meaningless, rewardless task. Humans expend so much energy climbing mountains, sometimes even risking their lives in the process. For the sake of our great ruler, I will gladly harvest all of that energy!”

The two women flanking him held up their hands, and my walking stick began to glow. Mamoru grimaced, falling to his knees.

“Mamoru!” I cried.

He threw the stick away as fast as he could, but his shoulders began to slump. I quickly grabbed him by the arm, using the energy I had left to pull him back in the direction of the path. When we got close enough, I threw myself against him, using the momentum to carry us into the trees and bushes.

We tumbled through the undergrowth for a moment until my back whacked against a tree, stopping us. I bit back a yell and lay there for a moment, grimacing. That was going to leave a bruise.

Then I remembered what was going on, and I began to frantically shake him.

“Hey,” I hissed. “Mamoru—c’mon, Mamoru, stay with me!”

He shifted a little, letting out a weak groan, but did not come to. Panic started to set in as I realized how this was going to play out.

Motoki, Unazuki, Aya and now even Mamoru… they were all under the effects of this energy-sapping spell. These weren’t just innocent people in danger anymore; they were my _friends._ My only friends here would die if I didn’t do something. And not only that, if Mamoru died… I couldn’t imagine the repercussions of that.

That walking stick had sapped some of my strength too, and I wasn’t even that tough on a good day. It would be stupid to count on Sailor V to save my ass at this point. Jesus, it was three against one and my only attack was a blinding move… how could I possibly hope to win?

I had no choice. It was strictly survival at this point.

_If either of you get in my way again, I’ll kill you myself._

Jadeite’s words from before sent a shudder through me. It was kill or be killed. I couldn’t abandon everyone… heroics aside, trying to live with that kind of guilt would destroy me eventually. I didn’t want to lose my only friends.

I stood, pulling the transformation pen from my pocket.

_“Polaris power, make up!”_

Silver light washed over me, and I stepped out from behind the trees, walking up the path. Somehow I managed not to stumble despite the heels, though the wind on the summit was chilly in such a short skirt.

When Jadeite caught sight of me, he offered a predatory smirk that made me shiver.

“I was hoping to draw one of you fools in today,” he said. “Aoi! Midori!”

“Tengu sisters at your service, Lord Jadeite,” one of the women replied. 

Their eyes had turned a menacing yellow, fangs poking out past their bottom lips, and their noses grew longer. Waxy looking dark feathers were quickly sprouting from the backs of their arms.

“Kill her,” Jadeite ordered. As always, he stepped back to watch, but the hard look in his eyes alarmed me. Would he really step up and do the job himself if his subordinates failed? That would be a real death sentence for me.

I tried to mask my distress with indignance, hoping that talking might stall them.

“Hey!” I yelled. “You didn’t even give me time to make an entrance and say some cool lines!”

“Too bad, little senshi,” the youma Aoi growled. “You don’t get to die with dignity!”

Unexpectedly, the sisters leapt up and became airborne, and my heart just about stopped. They started to circle above, and I realized just how vulnerable I was in this open space. _Shit!_

One of them started to swoop down at me. My blood ran cold as I heard the sound of rushing air accompanied by the sound of Jadeite’s laughter, and I froze on the spot, trapped in the gaze of those horrible yellow eyes.

Something flashed by me. The Tengu sister squawked, veering off course and crashing into the ground; droplets of blood stained the rocks at my feet, mixed with something else that was the same shade of crimson.

Rose petals.

To my left was a perfect red rose, the stem wedged between two rocks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AAAAAAAH TUXEDO KAMEN-SAMAAAA
> 
> Can't help but wonder if everyone saw this coming from a mile away. XD
> 
> Next time: Dream Team! Double battle on the summit!


End file.
